Real-time communication using network-connected computing devices is becoming increasingly popular. This may take the form of, for example, voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) telephony, audio-enabled chat programs, and audio and video streaming. Providing the highest quality audio and/or video experience can be a differentiator among the many companies providing real-time communication audio clients. A real-time audio client typically requires a user to select and configure the audio devices to use for making a call. However, the user's selection does not guarantee that the audio devices are receiving or playing audio. Present configuration processes on audio clients only check a portion of the overall audio system. Thus, for example, the audio client can determine that it is sending a sound sample to a loudspeaker, but cannot determine whether the loudspeaker is actually playing the sound. Similarly, the audio client may test to determine whether the microphone is working by asking a user to speak into the microphone, but the audio client has no way of knowing whether the user actually responded if no signal is recorded within a certain period of time.
The information included in this Background section of the specification is included for technical reference purposes and is not to be regarded as subject matter by which the scope of the invention is to be bound.